FOUKE, Arkansas (AP) -- FBI agents and state police raided an evangelist's headquarters Saturday as part of a child pornography investigation and said they planned to remove several children from the complex, run by a man previously accused of child abuse.

The raid at the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries south of Texarkana started an hour before sunset. Armed guards regularly patrol the ministry headquarters, but there was apparently no resistance as agents moved in.

"I have not heard of any shots fired," State Police spokesman Bill Sadler said.

U.S. Attorney Bob Balfe said before the raid that he expected an arrest warrant to be issued for Alamo. It wasn't known whether he was present during the raid.

Shortly after the raid began, a sport-utility vehicle hauling a trailer backed up to the ministry building's front door. FBI vehicles blocked off a dead-end road....

Maybe it was a matter of time, considering Alamo's church's sordid past.

Focus On The Family is an evangelical non-profit organization founded in 1977 in Colorado Springs by self-appointed moral arbiter and general religious wackeroo, James Dobson. It should come as no surprise that mainstream medical, psychological, and mental health organizations have roundly criticized this group from a standpoint of ethics. Also, top academics have charged them with manipulating research in misleading ways. These lost souls are no doubt deserving of their own deconstruction here and I can promise they'll get one farther down the road...but they're not our primary target at the moment.

On July 30th of this year, Focus vomited out a video which featured Stuart Shepard exhorting supporters to petition God with abundant prayers so that Barack Obama’s Democratic Convention speech at Mile High Stadium in Denver would be washed out with “rains of biblical proportion.” No, I'm not kidding. Complaints from a portion of their own membership moved the group to pull the video and disable it. They also removed it from their archives, as well as from their GodTube and YouTube pages...but our crack celestial staff, working overtime, has located a copy for all of you stalwart readers. Good for a laugh because, as we all know, NOTHING occurred to interfere with Senator Obama's inspiring speech that night...and I'm certain these so-called Christians were beside themselves with frustration about it.

Here we have just one more incident which highlights a deeply disturbing trend emerging from the Fundamentalist Flying Monkeys of the far right. You're not gonna believe THIS one...

It was in the Summer of 2004 when author, columnist, rightwing radio loudmouth and wingnutter extraordinaire Doug Giles put on his best fright-wig/fear ensemble and, in a column at Townhall.com--just a month and a half before the presidential election--began inciting his audience, demanding that they call the wrath of God down upon the enemies of Christianity; this time, the Islamic faith. Never mind that as of 2006, Islam was the second largest religious faction in the world, growing rapidly and predicted to become number one in the middle of this century. Never mind that roughly one quarter of the world's total population is Muslim. (Which means that they outnumber Americans something like five or six to one.) Never mind that the vast majority of these folk are good and decent law-abiding citizens and that their religion really is one of peace: Two of their most basic precepts are these: "The ink of the scholar is more holy than the blood of the martyr" and "All persons are equal before God [Allah] and goodness is the only criterion of worth."

But lost in the throes of his blood fever and madness, Giles branded Muslims, all 1.6 billion of them, [url=http://townhall.com/columnists/DougGiles/2006/09/23/imprecatory_prayer_the_intercessor’s_elephant_gun]"an implacable radical enemy"[/url] and called for vitriolic imprecatory prayers against them. Now, this particular type of prayer is not specifically defined in the Bible, but a pungent example is given in Psalm 35 and if you take the time to read it, you'll find--as I did!--that it's pretty scary. It's a curse, an invocation of evil against someone or something. In the aforementioned Psalm, David prays to God for assistance against "those who would devise evil" against him, those who "had dug a pit" for his soul. That's strong stuff...and the reader is forced to wonder if David was in fact justified in his harsh judgments.

Which is EXACTLY the problem.

If the intention is to call down divine retribution, who's to say what constitutes an adequate rationale? Certainly not hate-mongers like David Giles who has inveighed against a long series of "enemies" like illegal immigrants, liberals, atheists, the ACLU, feminists, gays...you know; all the usual suspects. But it seems to be the rabid radical right--who apparently hates everybody and everything except themselves!--who have already made the decisions for their troglodyte base and aimed them like a Cruise missile at chosen targets. Recall that Stu Shepard of Focus On The Family targeted the acceptance speech of a man who was merely running an opposing presidential campaign. Oh, he later claimed it was "hyperbole" and "meant to be humorous," but I, for one, am not convinced. If some members of its own organization hadn't believed that prayer shouldn't be used to bring harm on someone else, Focus On The Family woule have gotten away with it cold.

Earlier I referred to this as a trend and so it is. Last year, Wiley Drake, who was second vice president to the Southern Baptist Convention at the time, urged followers to pray to God that He might soundly smite members of the staff of Americans United for The Separation of Church and State. Why? Because they had blown the whistle on Drake and filed a complaint against his church for endorsing Mike Huckabee, a clear and flagrant violation of federal tax laws...and it had made the national news in August of 2007. So this clown decided that they were "enemies of God," according to his unique interpretation of the 109th Psalm, because they had dared to point out the fact that Drake had BROKEN THE LAW. Oh, he got right up there on his high horse and called for imprecatory prayers against the sinners and heathens of Americans United on his over-the-edge daily radio show and he was NOT joking. Consider, please, that this same Wiley Drake had been associated with the Army of God abortioNazi group and his name appeared for years on their website. (He denies it vigorously now and the site has, of course, been scrubbed.) So here's a man who equates his own enemies with "enemies of God." Does that sound like questionable sanity to YOU? It sure does to me!

The reason for my post today, however, is that these fundamentalist freakjobs have now moved from merely annoyingly laughable to deadly dangerous; they have decided that it might be a really good idea to wait until McCain is elected...and then pray for his death so Sarah-cuda Palin will be president. Her start at the Assembly of God church in Wasilla, Alaska, has given her the values and opinions of your basic religious extremist. One of these militant abortioNazi hardcore theocratic activists, Jay Rogers of Florida by name, originally said this in his blog The Forerunner to which I refuse to link and give traffic:

Quote:

Pray for John McCain's salvation and speedy death.

This has since been altered--Blogger has a policy for reporting objectionable content--and so it now says this:

Quote:

Pray for John McCain's salvation and pray specific imprecatory prayers if he fails to pro-actively defend the sanctity of human life.

There is also some extra-chromosome type whose screen name on the Calvinists4conservatism message board--again, no link--is "Ixion." This piece of garbage comes right out with abominations like:

Quote:

Jesus told us to love our neighbor, but hate the evil inside them. Sometimes, if the evil inside them is so great, our neighbor will have to be stoned...

And:

Quote:

McCain's VP choice, Sarah Palin, suddenly made me want to vote for him, as long as the LORD smites him while he's in office. She's consistently conservative on all the issues, and if she's good enough for The Forerunner, she's good enough for me. The Forerunner agrees with me that McCain must be smitten, as well, so I'm obviously not alone in my viewpoints...

Also:

Quote:

May the LORD cause McCain/Palin to win the White House in 2008, and then smite the godless McCain in favor of Palin. Amen.

Now I'm more that willing to grant that there is a vast difference in the rhetoric of the flying monkey leaders of the religious right and that of their low-forehead, mouth-breathing base...and Wiley Drake has opened up an extremely unsettling can of worms by asking for prayers to smite his own enemies who just so happen to be designated as "God's enemies" as well. Further, it was just last month that we witnessed not one but TWO high-profile shootings by rightwing robots who'd been programmed for their missions with a steady diet of AM Hate Radio and other radical media hate-mongers...yes, I'm talking about YOU, Bill O'Reilly! Does anybody out there REALLY think that a group of people who love their guns, distrust everyone unlike themselves and who have waist sizes higher than their IQs can't decide--even without provocation!--that they want to become the hand of God, doing His will with a spot of assassination? I don't care for insane McCain, not in the least...but I wouldn't wish that on ANYBODY.

Doncha think think even the most cretinous among them might conceivably be getting the message by now? And, sweet suffering succotash, I sure do hope Senator Obama's Secret Service team is on the ball, too...

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Rural and evangelical voters propelled Arkansas to adopt one of the nation's few bans against unmarried couples becoming foster or adoptive parents.

Championed by religious conservatives and fueled by a pulpit campaign, the ban passed with the endorsement of 56.9 percent of the voters. Major support came from rural counties in southwest Arkansas, where about two-thirds of voters supported the measure.

Only Pulaski County, home to Little Rock, offered a strong 15,000-vote margin opposing the ban. Washington County, home to the University of Arkansas, rejected the ban by a margin of 2,300 votes out of 65,000 cast.

The result came as a surprise to opponents. Gov. Mike Beebe had opposed the measure, citing a lack of foster homes in the state. Arkansas Families First had launched a series of television advertisements urging voters to reject the ban and a University of Arkansas poll showed 55 percent of the respondents opposed it.

"We were a little bit surprised, certainly by the margins," said Brett Kincaid, campaign director for Arkansas Families First. "We went in thinking we had a very good chance to beat this thing."

Though the measure bans unmarried couples from adopting and fostering children, the Arkansas Family Council portrayed it as a battle against a "gay agenda." The council relied on fliers and church sermons to buoy its cause.

_________________

"Behind every great fortune lies a great crime."Honore de Balzac

"Democrats work to help people who need help. That other party, they work for people who don't need help. That's all there is to it."~Harry S. Truman

CNN's Rick Sanchez reported on a church marquee that reads "America we have a Muslim president. This is a sin against the Lord." Mark Holick is pastor of The Spirit One Christian Center in Wichita, Kansas where the sign is being displayed.

Holick told KSNW, "The main point of the marquee is to cause the Christians to understand he is not a Christian, Again, they will call me and they will tell me that he's not a Muslim because he is a Christian. That's not the point. The point is he's not a Christian."

Sanchez talked to Wayne Slater who is the Sr. political write for the Dallas Morning News. "It's absolutely not true. He was born in the United States. Barack Obama. He is not a Muslim. Yet, there are people who hold on to this and part of this, i think, is an intent to believe what people want to believe about their environment because their environment is changing," said Slater.

This video is from CNN's Newsroom, broadcast Nov. 17, 2008.

ONE COMMENT FROM THE LINK:

"Bush is a MUSLIM? Who Knew?"

_________________

"Behind every great fortune lies a great crime."Honore de Balzac

"Democrats work to help people who need help. That other party, they work for people who don't need help. That's all there is to it."~Harry S. Truman

Catherine, the contents of your last three posts trouble me no end. These people are deeply disturbed and there is literally no telling what someone will do if they think they're "ordained by God." They are capable of ANYTHING and that includes becoming martyrs to their cause by committing suicide for a chance to kill him.

I sure hope our president-elect has some good Secret Service people around him...

I really fear for Obama and/or members of his family/cabinet. I hope, hope, hope he and the Secret Service are taking these pockets of deep anger very seriously and perhaps putting these strange people on watch and/or no fly lists. I read somewhere that we must not forget the man who tried to kill Ronald Reagan...he wanted to impress a movie star (Jodie Foster) about whom he'd had many fantasies. With Obama's election, we have not only the racists who are against him, but there's the religious ignorant, AND there's the Sarah Palin Fan Clubs..the very same idiots she stirred up at her many rallies.

Obama must stay safe. Surely if the Secret Service can protect George W. Bush, they can protect Obama.

_________________

"Behind every great fortune lies a great crime."Honore de Balzac

"Democrats work to help people who need help. That other party, they work for people who don't need help. That's all there is to it."~Harry S. Truman

These kinds of people are what I call the "real American Taliban." We've allowed them to grow in leaps and bounds during the past eight years. They believe their religious guidebook is infallible and their "cause" is just. I'm so glad that at least they've been somewhat muzzled by the Obama win, but I fear more for Obama and his family, especially the way the media are continuing to worship at Sarah Palin's ruby slippers. She stirred up the white trash...and their ignorance knows no bounds.

It's interesting that the minister wasn't called on the fact that Obama isn't the president yet...that in fact, what the minister is actually saying with his little sign is that BUSH IS A MUSLIM. AND why wasn't this minister asked just what the hell is wrong with being a Muslim in a country whose Constitution guarantees freedom of religion?

_________________

"Behind every great fortune lies a great crime."Honore de Balzac

"Democrats work to help people who need help. That other party, they work for people who don't need help. That's all there is to it."~Harry S. Truman

These kinds of people are what I call the "real American Taliban." We've allowed them to grow in leaps and bounds during the past eight years. They believe their religious guidebook is infallible and their "cause" is just. I'm so glad that at least they've been somewhat muzzled by the Obama win, but I fear more for Obama and his family, especially the way the media are continuing to worship at Sarah Palin's ruby slippers. She stirred up the white trash...and their ignorance knows no bounds.

It's interesting that the minister wasn't called on the fact that Obama isn't the president yet...that in fact, what the minister is actually saying with his little sign is that BUSH IS A MUSLIM. AND why wasn't this minister asked just what the hell is wrong with being a Muslim in a country whose Constitution guarantees freedom of religion?

Yes, Oliver Willis was the first one I heard refer to them as the American Taliban. (He's pretty neat and VERY funny sometimes. If you haven't visited his blog, you should do that.)

This poison seed was planted during the administration of Ronald Ray-Gun. (Remember the "Moral Majority?") Fortunately, that particular aberration dissolved into its toxic component parts about 15 years ago...but George Bush resuscitated the monster with his "faith-based initiatives," his vulgar pandering to evangelical voters and his appointees from Pat Robertson's unaccredited Regent University such as Monica Goodling.

I said above that I am deeply concerned by the possibility that one of these extra-chromosome Dominionists will deliberately choose to martyr himself by assassinating Obama. That possibility haunts my dreams...

I said above that I am deeply concerned by the possibility that one of these extra-chromosome Dominionists will deliberately choose to martyr himself by assassinating Obama. That possibility haunts my dreams...

I've always wondered why those with that extra chromosome have less than average thinking ability. I was reminded at work today during a conversation that there are some people dumber than Palin. Woman stated her entire family voted for McCain because of the "gun thing." I asked if she really thought her family needed assault weapons. She just gave me a dumb look in response. There are always liars with their lies, and those gullible enough to believe them. The sad fact is that many of the liars have pulpits, and the gullible have seats in the pews.

_________________“I'm not a member of any organized party. I'm a Democrat.”-Will Rogers